Unfortunately we received some snow last night. To make things worse, it’s below freezing, and will be for several hours. As soon as we’re above freezing and the snow melts, the 1st tee will be available. There’s no question we need the moisture. The 2″ of rain this week, and this snow is (somewhat) welcomed. The downside is the temperatures are not warm enough to have a positive benefit of promoting growth. It looks like by the end of next week, the overnight lows will stay in the 50’s, which is exactly what we need to “jump start” the golf course into form. Until then, we’ll stay patient and ..read more

2023 was the end of the Green Ash tree at Midland era. Planted en masse in the 1950s, they became the vast majority of the diversity that made up the property’s hardwood tree inventory. They also became a large part of the identity of the property and how this golf course played on a daily basis. Ash trees were a great tree for their rapid growth, but that rapid growth came with consequences. Poor branching, suckering, and weak growth habits, they created a nightmarish messy understory – not ideal for a golf course because of the labor it took to continually clean up their mess. The Green Ash ..read more

2023 was the end of the Green Ash tree at Midland era. Planted en masse in the 1950s, they became the vast majority of the diversity that made up the property’s hardwood tree inventory. They also became a large part of the identity of the property and how this golf course played on a daily basis. Ash trees were a great tree for their rapid growth, but that rapid growth came with consequences. Poor branching, suckering, and weak growth habits, they created a nightmarish messy understory – not ideal for a golf course because of the labor it took to continually clean up their mess. The Green Ash ..read more

Wow, what a winter, or lack thereof…. If you’re a fan of outdoor winter sports, sorry it’s been a dud. But with the 4″ of snow that fell last night, we were able to groom a walking trail on the front and back nine. There are no ski trails unfortunately, as the snow is too fluffy, and the ski trail groomer will damage the ground. This snow will more than likely be gone by Monday so we hope you can get out for a peaceful walk on the course over the next few days. Enjoy, Mike ..read more

There was light frost this morning, which means Fall is officially here. As a reminder, we are starting the process of topdressing and deep-tining fairways today. On average, we will attempt to finish 2-3 holes per day, as the process of deep-tining is very slow (.70 mph). If we see rain in the forecast (like there is this coming Friday, we may alter our plans accordingly) We apply a light rate of sand to fairways for two reasons. First to help protect the crown of the turf plants for winter survival, as well as for the agronomic benefits (discouraging Poa/promoting Bentgrass, reducing after e ..read more

Unfortunately the thunderstorms rolling through the metro is coming at the worst time. We do need the rain, but we’re now over 3.5″ for the week, and the soils were so dry and tight that it’s taking a lot longer than normal for the water to percolate downward. We cannot prepare the golf course for today, and the weekend, until the lightning has passed. We will need 1.5 hours to get out ahead, and stay ahead, of play, as we normally do. Once it’s safe for our staff to start our work, the first tee time will be set. Carts will also be decided upon at that time. Please contact the golf shop for u ..read more

Today was our second, of three, trial applications to remove Bentgrass in the rough. 5 green surround, between 14 and 17, as well as to the right of 17, comprise the trial plots. As you can see, the Bentgrass is turning white, and will get even more bleached over the next several weeks. As mentioned in the previous post, these areas were decided upon to determine how much Bentgrass existed in the rough, as well as learning the best re-establishment techniques. We will be seeding new grass into all of these areas this week. They will not be Ground Under Repair, but we ask that you avoid dri ..read more

When we rebuilt the 14th green last Fall, we excavated a lot of soil, some areas as much as 18″. The sub-grade of the green was built, with surface drainage having positive flow to the drainage inlet, and sod laid over the top of that. During construction, a common challenge is making sure you properly pack all of the soils, to prevent settling. To pack every square inch in a green as large is 14 is extremely difficult. After a few Spring rain events this year, we noticed that the front right corner of the green had settled. As a result, surface drainage off of the putting surface was compromi ..read more

A plant out of place is a weed. We commonly think of dandelions, thistle, or crabgrass, when someone talks about weeds. They are fairly easy to identify, as well as controlling, without giving much thought. But the very definition of a weed is subjective. Sometimes those weeds are in the correct place if they’re contributing to something positive, such as erosion control on a highway road side. Sometimes they are a desirable plant, but just placed in a location where they become detrimental, such as a shrub that grows up to block your front window. A tree planted in the wrong place can be cons ..read more

This past week’s aerification was no fun. The record heat index, did a toll on not only the staff, but on the turf as well. We altered our normal plan to minimize the most dangerous aspect of the process, which is the dragging of topdressing sand, to minimize dragging during the peak hot hours of the day. Monday morning was cool, and cloudy, which you think would have been a positive. We were able to apply several hundred tons of sand, which was great, but none of it was drying in succession with us applying it. When the sun did finally come out, all of the sand became dry, and HOT, all at onc ..read more